Syed Saddiq Accused of Allegedly Cheating in Triathlon, Claims It Was an ‘Honest Mistake’

In the comments, the participant wrote, “Why are you so proud? I was in the same race and realised you were behind me during the swim. And you never took over me on the bike, yet when (we were) on the run, you (were) already in front of me. How’s that possible? Obviously, you completed the bike with only two loops of 60km and not completing the entire 3 loops of 90km.”

He added that Syed Saddiq had completed the Ironman Desaru merely two months ago with the same bike course in 3 hours 31 minutes, so it was impossible to complete it in 2 hours 37 minutes so soon after. He also said that the fastest rider from Spain did it in 2 hours 31 minutes. “Are you really that fast?” he questioned.

“Not only that, you have taken away the third place podium position meant for the real person who deserved it, the person who did not cheat and who worked very hard to finish the race honestly,” the man wrote in the comments.

When the comment garnered attention online, Syed Saddiq posted a video explaining his explanation on his Instagram page. He said he had noticed an issue during the race and notified the technical team, but they said there was no issue.

He issued a lap-by-lap breakdown from the Triathlon’s technical team at every checkpoint and cross-referenced it with his Apple iWatch data, saying it was an “honest mistake.”

He also said he took full responsibility for the situation and said, “I unreservedly apologise to the triathlon community. He added that he was a newbie and looked forward to improving. His status is now reflected as did not finish (DNF) instead of third place.

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However, netizens were divided in the comments section. Some praised him for owning up to an innocent mistake. However, others were sceptical and even asked him to show proof of his 200km run.

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Netizens also took to Twitter to discuss the issue. Writer and political activist Liyana Marzuki said, “I’m not a pro triathlete, but I’ve joined marathons and duathlons several times. One thing everyone has to know is that the main motto of running or cycling gangs is 'do it till the end.' When we finish, we will definitely check out time. Was it better than our prior records?"

"Every time during races, we have the Strava app (for tracking physical exercise) and the recording machine on the bicycle to see how far we’ve run and walked. This becomes a record for bragging rights later.”

“When YB finished the race, don’t tell me he didn’t look at his iWatch or the record on the bicycle? He said he only realised he did 73km, not 90km, today. That is also after people questioned him. Hmm…”

She continued to write that it would be strange not to notice when he improved on his personal records by an hour. She added that it was hard for those who had entered races before to believe him. “Was it an honest mistake or a deliberate mistake?” she added.

Other netizens also slammed him with comments such as “Already cheated 30km but still couldn’t win first place.” Another said, “The HRH Crown Prince of Johor Tunku Ismail Idris warned us long ago that Syed Saddiq was a Drama Queen, but we were careless.”